Millennials and Religion

One of the things I hear the most is that millennials are giving up on faith and walking away from church.

And the statistics do seem to point that out. In my fellowship, the Churches of Christ, we lose 40% of our children when they graduate from high school. Some of those move on to other denominational groups, but some simply walk away from church. By the time they graduate from college, we have lost 65%. And most groups have the same phenomenon taking place. There is a "woe-is-us" group taht argues that Christianity, as a whole, is simply losing ground.

But does reality support these statistics? The argument's answer is... maybe. A recent study published shows that millennials attend church as regularly as their Gen X and Baby-booker predecessors. However, the claim to have a deeper level of faith that goes beyond basic church attendance. The number of "unaffiliated" millennials is much higher than any other level. They find themselves being more spiritual, without ever stepping into a church building. For them, faith has become very personalized, between them and God. They are looking for a GROUP that feels the same way. There is a strong draw towards matters of faith and spirituality, but it doesn't necessarily lead to "church."

In the recent Newsweek article, “Why Harvard’s Crisis of Faith,” there was a discussion about integrating religion into the curriculum at Harvard. The president of Harvard wants every student to have to take a “Faith and Reason” course. This could include anything from philosophy to theology to Buddhist studies. But he argues that faith has become vital in all realms of life, from politics to international studies to English. Others in the Harvard faculty rebelled against this idea. One professor, Dr. Steven Pinker of the psychology department, argued that the primary goal of a Harvard education is the pursuit of truth through rational inquiry, and that religion has no place in that. "Faith," he said, "is believing in something without good reasons to do so. It has no place in anything but a religious institution, and our society has no shortage of these.” The president decided to back down for now and wait till a later date to renew the conversation.

The article goes on to state in a sidebar that Harvard has one of the most secular faculties in the world, with 33% of the faculty disbelieving in a higher power. That statistic hit me hard, and I began to get down about what I was reading. But then I realized… that means that 66% of Harvard’s faculty DOES believe in a higher power! The statistics seem to slant our views that everyone doesn’t believe in God, but instead we find that the vast majority do! Also, there is a growing number of Christians at Harvard. Jay Harris, the dean of the General Studies program at Harvard, states, “Harvard students are increasingly churchgoing, Bible-studying, and believing. We have a very strong evangelical community…”

I think many of us get caught up in the idea that many of the people around us do not share our beliefs or our ideals. We feel like we are a minority as believers in Lawrence and at KU. But instead we have to realize that believers are still the largest demographic in America. Don’t lose heart, and don’t think all is lost.

As Paul looked around at the city of Corinth he had a similar thought. He felt as if he was in a losing battle, and a minority. “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.” (Acts 18:9-11) Take heart, my friends, because God is doing great things in this city!

So, all this to say... maybe the landscape isn't as bleak as we once imagined.

Best Shot of the Year

Kelly Ripa

I saw this live on Regis and Kelly over a year ago, but I thought it was HILARIOUS! So, enjoy!

The Anti-Religious Jesus

“But don’t worry… I’m not religious.”

Those words characterize a number of the conversations I have had with KU students over the past two years. So many people on campus are afraid of being religious. Indeed, it has become something of a taboo. “Thou shalt not be religious!” seems to be the mantra of many young people I meet. I recently passed by a car with the bumper sticker: “The Religious Right is Neither.” People think being religious is a bad thing.

Is it? Is being religious necessarily bad? Well, the answer seems to be both yes and no. “Religion” teaches us what God requires of us; it calls us to live by a certain standard and a moral code. It calls us to the recognition of something greater than ourselves.

Yet Jesus called us to more than just religion. In fact, Jesus did not get along well with religious people! (Or at least those who thought of themselves as attaining their own salvation through their works.) In Matthew 23, Jesus confronts the VERY religious Pharisees on their own self-righteousness. He lovingly refers to them as “snakes” and “broods of vipers.” “You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Mt. 23:15).

Jesus calls his disciples to a higher calling than just being religious. Religion is about what we do to attain salvation. Christianity is about the God who has already provided salvation for those of us who believe and obey. Jesus doesn’t call us to be religious; he calls us to be a part of The Way. Christianity isn’t just a religion; it is a way of life that calls us beyond rules and regulations and closer to the heart of God.

So go out and don’t be religious. Instead, live by The Way of God, loving people and showing them through your lives the God who loves them too.

Cultural Lenses, Part 2

I want to post a response to a blog Scot McKnight wrote yesterday. This was my thought on this idea:

I think Wright is right on point about our culture affecting our reading/understanding of Scripture. Almost everyone we read in seminary is a dead white guy, whose understanding of Scripture has been influenced by Tubingen, Calvin, Barth, Luther, etc. But the interesting thing is what happens when we expand our cultural worldview.

First of all, the Bible is primarily written from a Semitic, middle-eastern worldview. As Christian we extrapolate our understanding from what we hear and read, but the understandings gleaned by present-day Bedouins on parables is probably closer to the real meaning than what we hear on Sunday mornings.

I think one of the things we must do is move beyond our Western understanding of Scripture. There are valuable insights to be gained from our African, Asian, and South American brothers and sisters as they attempt to wrestle with Scripture and God's revelation. To simply say that dead white guys have it figured out is, quite frankly, and insult to the Bible, which has truth to teach to all mankind, regardless of their culture.

I think the moment that we neglect to understand that the Bible was not written to us, but we try to understand God in light of our own cultural understandings, we immediately limit our understanding of God and his mission.

What do you guys think? Am I wrong?

Cultural Lenses and Biblical Worldviews

Our understanding of the world is shaped by where we grew up. Missionary children are never quite "the same" as heir American peers. Regardless of where they grew up, whether it was England or Mauritania, they have a different view of the world than Americans do. The same is said for our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. They usually have a different understanding of life, values, and faith than we do. The things that are important to us simply aren't important to them, and vice-versa.

One of the questions I want to pose today is this: How does our worldview shape our understanding of Scripture?

In the video below, Anglican bishop and scholar N. T. Wright discusses how our worldview shapes our understanding:



What are your thoughts? How is our understanding of Scripture shaped by our culture, values, patriotism, etc?